If he is using his engagements to run a pre-election campaign before the election campaign, and using the facilities of the office to do that, that is an abuse of behaviour. If an American president did that they would face prosecution. They cannot even mention anything to do with electioneering in the White House. If you make one phonecall from anywhere in the White House that is for party political advantage, then you are sacked. THat is why Oval Office staff can be seen outside in the White House grounds using their mobiles. They cannot make a political call within 50 feet of the building without breaking a federal law.

I wonder does Ireland have such a law? If it does, then Ahern is surely breaking it.

Active member

TD for thirty years
Minister for labour,
Architect of Social Partnership
Minister of finance
Highest personal vote of any politician in Ireland
Major part in restoring IRA truce
Major part in GFA
Longest serving Taoiseach since Eamon de Valera
First Taoiseach to serve ten consecutive years since Eamon de Valera in 1944
Most popular party leader in the last ten years
Leader of government in the most successful economic period in Irelands history

Yeah, hell be found out any day now.
Ireland has never been short of them, but what a bunch of petty minded begrudgers you are.
Can you not make a case for whatever party you support to be in Government without descending to this sort of sh1te.

Well-known member

TD for thirty years
Minister for labour,
Architect of Social Partnership
Minister of finance
Highest personal vote of any politician in Ireland
Major part in restoring IRA truce
Major part in GFA
Longest serving Taoiseach since Eamon de Valera
First Taoiseach to serve ten consecutive years since Eamon de Valera in 1944
Most popular party leader in the last ten years
Leader of government in the most successful economic period in Irelands history

Yeah, hell be found out any day now.
Ireland has never been short of them, but what a bunch of petty minded begrudgers you are.
Can you not make a case for whatever party you support to be in Government without descending to this sort of sh1te.

Look I wont deny Bertie's workload. In his own way he is a phenomenon and I actually think you are going to have a major problem replacing him but I think your slur on Garrett is completely out of order - a man who probably overworked himself in the job and propbably tried to take on too much! Remember he was the only one to get concessions out of Margaret Thatcher and the first to get British agreement to southern involvement in the north. His landmark divorce referendum failed thanks to the alliance of the church and FF, but the fact that he dared challenge made the establishment realise that things would never be the same again. In 1982 he inherited the worst economic disaster in the history of the state and despite having no social partnership(FF trade unions), no support from a weak labour party, he brought public spending and inflation under control. We were still spending a lot on teh interest but that interest came from loans which were due to policies taken under FF years before. The subsequent(good) minority FF government was only able to pursue the fiscal policies because of FG support for the good of the country (this was Garrett's idea which Dukes later turned into a Tallaght startegy. Had Garrett done what FF had done in 1982-1987(the most negative opposition in history) Haughey's govt would have collapsed and the country would have been shafted for good.
Garrett was the first one to challenge the orthodoxy on N.Ireland, the economy and social affairs. To think that these questions could be solved in just 4 years is naive in the extreme. Garrett broke the mould, the rest(Haughey,Reynolds, Bruton) were good but they were followers and owe their success to Garrett. Bertie was the crown prince that inherited fabolous riches(N.Ireland was already on the way, the economy was booming and the power of the Church had been dissipated). History will judge if he spent his inheritance wisely. I'm not so sure but boy can he canvass. The last of a kind I suspect.

Active member

TD for thirty years
Minister for labour,
Architect of Social Partnership
Minister of finance
Highest personal vote of any politician in Ireland
Major part in restoring IRA truce
Major part in GFA
Longest serving Taoiseach since Eamon de Valera
First Taoiseach to serve ten consecutive years since Eamon de Valera in 1944
Most popular party leader in the last ten years
Leader of government in the most successful economic period in Irelands history

Yeah, hell be found out any day now.
Ireland has never been short of them, but what a bunch of petty minded begrudgers you are.
Can you not make a case for whatever party you support to be in Government without descending to this sort of sh1te.